Reprinted with permission from Chris Vaughn Date: Saturday, May 23, 2009 3:13 AM Sir, With respect, I'd like to be sure the story of PFC Warren A. Nicholls would find it's way to the Wolfhounds. Your website came up in a web search for information of his unit. It seems appropriate I notify you of this article, your having been in near the place and time that PFC Warren served in the RVN. Fri, May. 22, 2009 Vietnam veteran will be laid to rest in Oklahoma 20 years after his death By CHRIS VAUGHN cvaughn@star-telegram.com Treasure is occasionally found at yard sales. But how often does a $5 purchase lead to the unraveling of a mystery that involved a footlocker, cremated remains, a Purple Heart and a mother's heartache? The tale ends today with the military burial of Army Pfc. Warren A. Nicholls, whose grievous wounds, received on a battlefield in Vietnam in 1967, led to his early death at his little country spread in Azle. What led to today's service, planned for a prominent section of a cemetery in Broken Arrow, Okla., is a good deal more involved, maybe a bit bizarre. Truth is stranger than fiction, an axiom that one of the principal players believes now more than ever. "I've never heard of such a thing," said Don Clapsaddle, 84, a World War II veteran and chief of staff for the Military Order of the Purple Heart in Oklahoma. Last fall, an antiques dealer in Broken Arrow bought an Army footlocker at a yard sale, took it home and opened it. He found two sets of cremated remains; an Army uniform; boots; travel orders from Fort Benning, Ga., to San Francisco; a Social Security card; and a Purple Heart. A few phone calls later, someone had Clapsaddle on the phone. The Department of Veterans Affairs was called, and officials filled in more about Nicholls' life and service. More than a burial At the age of 18, Nicholls enlisted in the Army in Fort Worth and was shipped to basic training Jan. 19, 1967. By that summer, he was in Vietnam, where early in the evening of Sept. 4, 1967, as an infantryman with Company A, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, he was wounded in the head by grenade shrapnel during a fierce firefight near Nui Ba Den, a sizable mountain north of what was then called Saigon. On Feb. 6, 1968, he was discharged from the Army and sent to the VA, which awarded him disability compensation for paralysis, loss of part of his skull and dementia. Clapsaddle also learned that Nicholls died Feb. 26, 1987, at age 39. The other set of cremated remains in the trunk belonged to his mother, Vivian "Peggy" Melton, who died in 2002. Clapsaddle called the manager of the Floral Haven Memorial Gardens in Broken Arrow, which has a large veterans section. He knew that they'd provide free space for Nicholls' remains. But the cemetery wanted to do more. "The more we thought about it, the more we thought he deserved more than that," said Steve Moeller, a spokesman for the funeral home. Nicholls' remains, his boots and his mother's remains will be placed in a large granite bench and set on the upper level of the cemetery's "freedom shrine." "Since she took care of him all these years and safeguarded his remains, it seemed appropriate for her to stay with him," Moeller said. None of those involved knew much more about Nicholls and his mother, although they were convinced that the G.I. had been forgotten, if he was sold in a garage sale. The rest of the story But that's not the full story, said the woman who held the garage sale. Mary Medlin met Nicholls and his mother in the early 1970s in Fort Worth. "He was quite an amazing person," Medlin said. "The doctors told him he would never walk again, but he was determined enough to show them they were wrong. He learned to walk again." Nicholls bought a mobile home and some land in Parker County, where he lived alone despite paralysis on his right side. His mother lived in south Fort Worth. He took college classes in journalism because he wanted to be a writer. "He had a little pond out there where he would do his writing," she said. "He wrote this far-out science fiction stuff. He was very much a loner." He died in his house. His mother was the one who found him, Medlin said. Nicholls' mother considered trying to have him buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Medlin said, but she had a very difficult time with the loss of her only child. So she put his remains in his Army footlocker. "She could have afforded a service, but she just couldn't turn loose of him," Medlin said. "He was her life. She raised him on her own. She would never talk about Vietnam. It took her life away." When Medlin moved to Oklahoma about 10 years ago, Melton went with her because she had no family. Before Melton died in 2002, she told Medlin that she did not want a funeral. So Medlin had her cremated and then put her remains in the footlocker, intending some day to find a more permanent place in a rose garden or somewhere nice. When Medlin got married about two years ago, she and her husband started cleaning out things. One day last autumn while she was at work, her husband put the footlocker in a garage sale, not knowing anything was in it, much less the remains of two people so close to her. "I didn't forget Warren," she said. "This is a very emotional story for me." She will attend today's ceremony, proud, nervous and heartbroken all at the same time. "They were very private people," Medlin said. "All this recognition, they would not have been happy with. But Peggy would have been proud that this is happening for Warren. - end I served with the Wolfhounds at the NTC on loan to their BN as a Scout during my time at Ft Ord with 7th ID. Pretty good Soldiers the Wolfhounds. Have a good Memorial Day weekend and thanks for your service. |
IN MEMORY OF PFC WARREN NICHOLLS COMPANY A 1/27 |
Reprinted with permission from Chris Vaughn Date: Saturday, May 23, 2009 3:13 AM Sir, With respect, I'd like to be sure the story of PFC Warren A. Nicholls would find it's way to the Wolfhounds. Your website came up in a web search for information of his unit. It seems appropriate I notify you of this article, your having been in near the place and time that PFC Warren served in the RVN. Fri, May. 22, 2009 Vietnam veteran will be laid to rest in Oklahoma 20 years after his death By CHRIS VAUGHN cvaughn@star-telegram.com Treasure is occasionally found at yard sales. But how often does a $5 purchase lead to the unraveling of a mystery that involved a footlocker, cremated remains, a Purple Heart and a mother's heartache? The tale ends today with the military burial of Army Pfc. Warren A. Nicholls, whose grievous wounds, received on a battlefield in Vietnam in 1967, led to his early death at his little country spread in Azle. What led to today's service, planned for a prominent section of a cemetery in Broken Arrow, Okla., is a good deal more involved, maybe a bit bizarre. Truth is stranger than fiction, an axiom that one of the principal players believes now more than ever. "I've never heard of such a thing," said Don Clapsaddle, 84, a World War II veteran and chief of staff for the Military Order of the Purple Heart in Oklahoma. Last fall, an antiques dealer in Broken Arrow bought an Army footlocker at a yard sale, took it home and opened it. He found two sets of cremated remains; an Army uniform; boots; travel orders from Fort Benning, Ga., to San Francisco; a Social Security card; and a Purple Heart. A few phone calls later, someone had Clapsaddle on the phone. The Department of Veterans Affairs was called, and officials filled in more about Nicholls' life and service. More than a burial At the age of 18, Nicholls enlisted in the Army in Fort Worth and was shipped to basic training Jan. 19, 1967. By that summer, he was in Vietnam, where early in the evening of Sept. 4, 1967, as an infantryman with Company A, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, he was wounded in the head by grenade shrapnel during a fierce firefight near Nui Ba Den, a sizable mountain north of what was then called Saigon. On Feb. 6, 1968, he was discharged from the Army and sent to the VA, which awarded him disability compensation for paralysis, loss of part of his skull and dementia. Clapsaddle also learned that Nicholls died Feb. 26, 1987, at age 39. The other set of cremated remains in the trunk belonged to his mother, Vivian "Peggy" Melton, who died in 2002. Clapsaddle called the manager of the Floral Haven Memorial Gardens in Broken Arrow, which has a large veterans section. He knew that they'd provide free space for Nicholls' remains. But the cemetery wanted to do more. "The more we thought about it, the more we thought he deserved more than that," said Steve Moeller, a spokesman for the funeral home. Nicholls' remains, his boots and his mother's remains will be placed in a large granite bench and set on the upper level of the cemetery's "freedom shrine." "Since she took care of him all these years and safeguarded his remains, it seemed appropriate for her to stay with him," Moeller said. None of those involved knew much more about Nicholls and his mother, although they were convinced that the G.I. had been forgotten, if he was sold in a garage sale. The rest of the story But that's not the full story, said the woman who held the garage sale. Mary Medlin met Nicholls and his mother in the early 1970s in Fort Worth. "He was quite an amazing person," Medlin said. "The doctors told him he would never walk again, but he was determined enough to show them they were wrong. He learned to walk again." Nicholls bought a mobile home and some land in Parker County, where he lived alone despite paralysis on his right side. His mother lived in south Fort Worth. He took college classes in journalism because he wanted to be a writer. "He had a little pond out there where he would do his writing," she said. "He wrote this far-out science fiction stuff. He was very much a loner." He died in his house. His mother was the one who found him, Medlin said. Nicholls' mother considered trying to have him buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Medlin said, but she had a very difficult time with the loss of her only child. So she put his remains in his Army footlocker. "She could have afforded a service, but she just couldn't turn loose of him," Medlin said. "He was her life. She raised him on her own. She would never talk about Vietnam. It took her life away." When Medlin moved to Oklahoma about 10 years ago, Melton went with her because she had no family. Before Melton died in 2002, she told Medlin that she did not want a funeral. So Medlin had her cremated and then put her remains in the footlocker, intending some day to find a more permanent place in a rose garden or somewhere nice. When Medlin got married about two years ago, she and her husband started cleaning out things. One day last autumn while she was at work, her husband put the footlocker in a garage sale, not knowing anything was in it, much less the remains of two people so close to her. "I didn't forget Warren," she said. "This is a very emotional story for me." She will attend today's ceremony, proud, nervous and heartbroken all at the same time. "They were very private people," Medlin said. "All this recognition, they would not have been happy with. But Peggy would have been proud that this is happening for Warren. - end I served with the Wolfhounds at the NTC on loan to their BN as a Scout during my time at Ft Ord with 7th ID. Pretty good Soldiers the Wolfhounds. Have a good Memorial Day weekend and thanks for your service. |
I received the story which follows this answer to the email containing the story from Steven Finch. PFC Warren Nicholls and I were both wounded with others on September 4, 1967 near Tayn Ninh Province Vietnam. I want to thank you for sharing this story with me. To be honest, I had been attempting to locate PFC Nicholls for quite some time as we were wounded the same day during the the same firefight. I know now one of the reasons I was unsucessful is that I had the spelling of his name wrong. I don't remember him as of this moment, but maybe someone has a picture of him and if I saw his face my memory can be juggled. Originally, I thought there were only 3 of us wounded during the firefight. But, about 5 years ago while doing some research for doucments in the Archives at the University at Maryland I came across some daily logs from September 4, 1967. I discovered several others including PFC Nicholls name as being wounded. It was then that I began looking for him. Now, I can stop looking. PFC Nicholls and the men I served with have not been forgotten. I think of them each and everyday of my life. I will make sure to share his story and again I want to thank you. I am also sending you a complimentary copy of our newsletter. By the way what does "S F" stand for? Welcome Home! William R. I. "Easy" Smith, President, 27th Infantry Regiment Historical Society, Inc |
To be clear I did not serve in RVN. I first entered the Army June 1974. SF are my initials, Steven Finch. With respect, I'd like to be sure the story of PFC Warren A. Nicholls would find it's way to the Wolfhounds. Your website came up in a web search for information of his unit. It seems appropriate I notify you of this article, your having been in near the place and time that PFC Warren served in the RVN. I served with the Wolfhounds at the NTC on loan to their BN as a Scout during my time at Ft Ord with 7th ID. Pretty good Soldiers the Wolfhounds. Steven Finch |
